Isanti Soil & Water Conservation District

We are excited to announce our new Cover Crop Program! Cover crops have been scientifically proven to improve the health of your soil. For more information or to sign up for the program please contact Matthew Remer at mremer@isantiswcd.org or 763-689-3271.

COVID-19 Update:

Congratulations to Jacqui Baker, recipient of the 2020 Isanti Soil and Water Conservation District’s Outstanding Conservationist Award! Each year, the SWCD recognizes individuals and/or organizations for outstanding accomplishments in implementing conservation practices and improving Minnesota’s natural resources.

In early October I [Tiffany Determan, SWCD District Manager] spent the better half of a morning trekking with Jacqui on her 80 plus acres located in Isanti Township. After listening to her talk about her land and passion for trees, prairie grasses, wetlands, beetles, pigeons (Ok, Ok, all things natural) I reflected on something that Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife management, once said. He said: “Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching—even when doing the wrong thing is legal.” My thought was, it must have been people like her that he was reflecting on.

It is clear to the SWCD that Jacqui whole-heatedly believes in conservation. After purchasing her property over 20 years ago she began an extensive effort to rehabilitate the land and has done an amazing job. A few of Jacqui’s great conservation efforts include:

Minnesota residents are eligible to apply for Lawns to Legumes cost-share funding of up to $300 to create pollinator habitat in their yards. The application period is open until Feb. 15 and applicants will be chosen in March. Applications will be chosen through a randomized drawing, though priority will be given to projects within higher priority areas.

Apply here: https://bluethumb.org/lawns-to-legumes/apply-for-lawns-to-legumes-assistance/

Do you love fishing the Rum River? Do you live along or near the Rum River south of Grandy? If you answered yes to either of these questions you will be interested and excited to learn about this project!

The Isanti SWCD restored flow to a one-mile segment of the Rum River that was abandoned due to a man-made diversion dug over 50 years ago. Due to increased rain events over the last 20 years, the diversion began causing a number of problems including the disconnection of the river from its floodplain (this can result in increased flooding to downstream communities) and widening of the river upstream (this can result in erosion of the streambanks and loss of fish habitat).

To resolve the problems, the Isanti Soil and Water Conservation District (ISWCD) secured a $250,000 grant from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment and funding from The Nature Conservancy to hire Minnesota Native Landscapes to fill the diversion and redirect flow into the abandoned river channel. The project was completed in Spring 2019. In Summer 2021 vegetation was planted on the banks of the project to prevent erosion.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, or seeing the completed project, consider taking a canoe trip down the Rum River this summer (access the river from Co. Rd. 14). OR, contact Tiffany Determan, Isanti SWCD @ 763-689-3271